Auckland Grammar School (often simplified to Auckland Grammar, or Grammar) is a state, day and boarding secondary school for boys in Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand. It was established in 1869.
The school was originally situated on Howe Street in Freeman’s Bay, where Auckland Girls Grammar School is now located. It moved to its current site on Mountain Road in Epsom in 1916. As of 2020, it has 2606 students, making it the third largest school in New Zealand. The current headmaster, Tim O’Connor, who was appointed in 2012, received a Blake Leader Award in 2007.
History
Auckland Grammar School was endowed in 1850 by the then Governor of New Zealand, Sir George Grey.
Sir George Grey, during his times as governor in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand is also affiliated with the establishment of other educational institutions such as Whanganui Collegiate School in Whanganui, New Zealand, Grey College in Bloemfontein, South Africa, and Grey High School in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Auckland Grammar was recognised as an educational establishment in 1868 through the Grammar School Appropriation Act. It officially opened in 1869 in the old Immigration Barracks site on Howe Street with 78 boys enrolled. The school was initially privately funded, as New Zealand did not have a state education system until 1877.
A growing roll caused the school to move twice in the 1870s, and in 1880, it moved to Symonds Street, where it remained for 35 years. The site today houses the University of Auckland’s School of Architecture. Due to the economic impact of the 1880s depression, girls from Girls High School joined what was by then called the Auckland College and Grammar School. In 1909, Auckland Girls Grammar School opened on the original Howe Street site, and the renamed Auckland Grammar School became an all-boys school again. In 1916, the school moved to its current location in Mountain Road, Epsom, which was opened by Governor General Arthur Foljambe the Earl of Liverpool.
Auckland Grammar School buildings contain two Category I historic places, the school's main block and a war memorial, and one Category II historic place, the former janitor's house. An obelisk located in front of the school commemorates former students who fought in various wars. The school's main block, built in 1916 in the Spanish Mission style, is used for daily assemblies and exhibitions, and it also contains classrooms on its two levels. Surrounding the main hall in which students sit for daily assemblies are the school honours boards, listing the names of the school's top scholars.
In the early 20th century, inmates from the neighbouring Mount Eden Prison worked at two stone quarries adjacent to the school and were involved in the construction of the 1916 school building itself. Early prisoners were used as labourers to quarry stone for use in road construction around Auckland, including the quarries at Maungawhau / Mount Eden and Auckland Grammar School. The flat land was redeveloped into sports fields for Auckland Grammar School after the closure of the quarries in the 1960s. This compensated the school somewhat for the loss of its main rugby field, which became a motorway.
The school owns a facility called the VentureLodge located in the township of Ohakune, in the central North Island, which is used by students for camps.
The school's motto is which translates to "Through difficulties to greatness." The school has also translated the motto as "Through rough ravines to hallowed heights," and "from trials to triumph." The origin of the motto is uncertain, but it was a common maxim at the time of the school's founding.
A documentary on the school titled Grammar Boys was aired in July 2005 on TV3.
Architecture
The main building was constructed in 1916, designed by the architectural firm of Arnold & Abbott. It and the adjacent caretaker's residence are designed in the Spanish Mission style. Following the completion of the main building, three smaller buildings were constructed in the same style; the library block to the north, the gymnasium to the south and a toilet block adjoining the main building. In the 1950s, a large science block was constructed to the south of the main block in a modern style with metal windows. Further to the south again is a concrete block built in the early 1970s, raised on pilotis to give access to the upper playing fields. Between it and the 1920 gymnasium is a large gymnasium which was constructed in the mid-1970s and opened by then Prime Minister Robert Muldoon.